Communist Tax Lawyer

In Mongolia, where no coins are used, the country’s national currency, the tugrik (or tögrög), has slowly been making a comeback due to massive deflation and significant revaluation against the U.S. dollar.

As such, the humble 1 tugrik banknote – the smallest currency denomination in Mongolia, worth roughly US$0.0007 – has re-entered the daily lives of Mongolia’s citizens after being virtually unusable in recent years.

In addition, an end to the impasse between the Mongolian government and the worlds mining corporations looms on the horizon, which would likely ensure that the country comes out of the recession in better shape than it went in. Read the rest of this entry »

Vietnam plans to sell $1 billion of 10-year dollar-denominated bonds in an attempt to curb inflation, an expanding trade deficit, and a weakening national currency (the dong).

The sale could occur as early as this week with a coupon rate of not greater than seven percent, according to Vietnam’s central bank.

“The new issue should have an absolute yield of around 6.85 percent to 7 percent,” said Sergey Dergachev of Frankfurt-based Union Investments. “Vietnam is economically much weaker, with significant twin deficits and a highly managed exchange rate.”

The proceeds of the sale will help fund Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, Vietnam National Shipping Lines, Song Da Corp., and Vietnam Machinery Installation Corp., the State Bank of Vietnam said in a statement on their website.

The sale may also help the floundering Vietnamese dong which depreciated 5.4 percent last year against the dollar and is currently trading at VND18,420 to USD1.

Xinhua reports that, as urban fixed-asset investment continues to rise, China will see a steady increase in mid to long term lending.

According to a report from Galaxy Securities on Wednesday, monthly new yuan-dominated loans over the next four month are expected to reach 450 billion yuan (USD65.9 billion).

Data from the National Bureau of Statistic showed that fixed-asset investment in China’s urban areas rose to 11.3 trillion yuan, up 33 percent in the first eight months of 2009.

New loans in the first eight months stood at 8.15 trillion yuan, far exceeding the year end target of five trillion yuan, according to the People’s Bank of China.

In a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee yesterday, Vietnam’s Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc unveiled the details of the government’s US$8 billion stimulus package.

US$5.2 billion of the funds will go towards infrastructure and development projects, US$1.6 will come in the form of tax breaks for enterprises and individuals, and a further US$400 million will serve welfare purposes.

During the meeting, Minister Phuc also downgraded Vietnam’s expected yearly growth in gross domestic product (GDP) to 5 percent from the original forecast of 6.5 percent.

Cuba’s central bank will put restrictions on the banking transactions of foreign companies operating inside the communist country starting on May 7th, according to Reuters.

The Nuevo Tribune newspaper has speculated that this surprise move has come as an attempt to cut down on illegal financial activities, such as money laundering, which have become a problem in the country.

Other sources believe that the move is in response to liquidity problems in the economy following a disappointing 2008.

The news regarding the changing banking policy was sent out via mail by state-owned Banco Metropolitano to foreign establishments and associations.

In the future, withdrawals will be restricted to those required to pay salaries to Cuban employees and special authorization from bank officials will be required for other bank transactions.

Vietnam’s central region has seen many investment projects remain incomplete as investors fail to finish the work they started.

In the ancient city of Hue in Thua Thien-Hue Province, a dozen projects involving residential areas and tourist and greenery parks are left only half-complete after several years of construction. Examples include the 199-ha urban area in An Dong Ward, the 32-ha urban area in An Tay Ward, the 84-ha Xuan Phu Urban Area and the 31-ha Dong Nam Thuy An.

Moreover, none of the 31 hotel and entertainment park projects licensed since 2003 along the Hoi An-Dien Ban coastline in Quang Nam Province has been finished.